Skip to content

The Cisco switch must be configured to use keys with a duration not exceeding 180 days for authenticating routing protocol messages.

An XCCDF Rule

Description

<VulnDiscussion>If the keys used for routing protocol authentication are guessed, the malicious user could create havoc within the network by advertising incorrect routes and redirecting traffic. Some routing protocols allow the use of key chains for authentication. A key chain is a set of keys that is used in succession, with each having a lifetime of no more than 180 days. Changing the keys frequently reduces the risk of them eventually being guessed. Keys cannot be used during time periods for which they are not activated. If a time period occurs during which no key is activated, neighbor authentication cannot occur, and therefore routing updates will fail. Therefore, ensure that for a given key chain, key activation times overlap to avoid any period of time during which no key is activated.</VulnDiscussion><FalsePositives></FalsePositives><FalseNegatives></FalseNegatives><Documentable>false</Documentable><Mitigations></Mitigations><SeverityOverrideGuidance></SeverityOverrideGuidance><PotentialImpacts></PotentialImpacts><ThirdPartyTools></ThirdPartyTools><MitigationControl></MitigationControl><Responsibility></Responsibility><IAControls></IAControls>

ID
SV-221073r856660_rule
Severity
Medium
References
Updated



Remediation - Manual Procedure

Configure each key used for routing protocol authentication to have a lifetime of no more than 180 days as shown in the example below:

SW1(config)# key chain OSPF_KEY
SW1(config-keychain)# key 1
SW1(config-keychain-key)# key-string xxxxxxxxxxxx
SW1(config-keychain-key)# send-lifetime 00:00:00 Oct 1 2019 23:59:59 Dec 31 2019